


make me your moon forever more

by earlgrey_milktea



Series: milktea's saso2017 fills [12]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, Archery, Bittersweet Ending, Chinese Mythology & Folklore, Light Angst, M/M, Retelling, Sad Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-12 04:17:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11154069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earlgrey_milktea/pseuds/earlgrey_milktea
Summary: at kuroko's request, kagami shoots down the suns.[a retelling of the legend of houyi and chang'e]





	make me your moon forever more

**Author's Note:**

> original prompt [here](https://sportsanime.dreamwidth.org/21931.html?thread=11232427#cmt11232427)
> 
> the legend of houyi and chang'e was the first story i remembered as a child, but when i was doing research for this fill, i couldn't find a version that i liked/remembered, so i did what you're supposed to with myths and i made up the rest, ahaha.

Long long ago, when the world is still young, Heaven and Earth are close enough to cross in one day. Humans and gods alike walk the sprawling lands with abandon, and everyone knows of the Heavenly Emperor’s seven children. They held tremendous power and talent; however, with their blessed gifts comes dangerous pride. And this pride is the beginning of their doom.

There is Akashi, said to take after the Heavenly Emperor himself, all-knowing and commanding like the brightest and most fearless war general. There is Murasakibara, the biggest presence of them all, immovable and unstoppable all at the same time. There is Midorima, the most accurate archer in all the lands above and below, never faltering and always high-achieving. There is Aomine, the fastest and strongest warrior with a fiery ambition to match, unbeatable in any challenge. There is Kise, captivating and mesmerizing in every and any way, always striving to surpass. There is Momoi, sharp and curious, the wisest of them all. And there is Kuroko, the youngest son, the one whose very existence is a question of its own.

Kuroko is often found wandering through the skies, keeping his friend Ogiwara company. Ogiwara is a spirit of the sun, and Kuroko rather likes the warmth he gives, purely and unconditionally. 

But because Kuroko is the most doted on of all his siblings, it is natural that the other Heavenly children became jealous towards Ogiwara. They demanded Kuroko’s attention, and when he refused to give it to them, they used their father’s blessings and turned themselves into suns as well. 

“If Kuroko wants the sun,” says Aomine, “then I’ll be the best, brightest sun there ever was. No one can beat me.”

“Think again, Aomine,” Kise says, and he moves across the sky, doing his best to outshine all of them. 

Midorima turns up his nose at them, but he doesn’t hesitate to project himself into the sky. Murasakibara is already there, floating lazily and dangerously close to the earth, scorching the land until it’s barren. Momoi isn’t as good at being a sun, but she’s determined to win Kuroko’s favour more than anyone else, so she shines and shines and shines. Akashi burns in position at high noon, staring down at the earth that Kuroko loves so much with disdain.

Together, the seven suns in the sky is too much for the mortals on earth to bear. Their crops burn, the rivers dry up, and even under their flimsy roofs the heat is too much. The humans pray to the gods and the heavens above, leaving as much food as they can spare as sacrifices, asking for their deities to spare them some mercy. But the Heaven’s Children remain fixed in the sky.

When Kuroko realizes what is going on, he is heartbroken. He pleads to his siblings, but they are too busy competing in the skies to hear him. Only Ogiwara hears him, and he implores his friend to ask the mortals for help.

“Go, Kuroko,” Ogiwara says. “Take this elixir of life. When you find a worthy warrior, give it to them as a reward. But remember, it is for two. Make sure to take half the elixir to return, Kuroko. No less, and more more.”

So Kuroko descends from the Heavens.

He travels from village to village, searching for anyone that might be strong enough to defeat his siblings. It takes days, maybe weeks. The world is on fire, and night is nowhere to be found. 

Finally, finally, Kuroko comes across a famed archer. His name is Kagami, and he has no interest in things outside of the mortal realm.

“Please, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko says, “Please help me defeat my siblings.”

“They’re your family, aren’t they?” Kagami returns. “Why would you want to defeat them?”

“They will ruin the earth,” says Kuroko, “and then themselves. I am trying to save them from themselves.”

“By using me.”

“Yes.” Kuroko stares up at Kagami, eyes as calm as the quiet oceans. “You are the greatest archer of these lands, and I believe you can help me.”

Kagami hesitates. “What’s in it for me?”

Kuroko considers. “Your name will go down in history. You will become the champion of the Heavens and the Earth. If you help me, I will make a legend out of you.”

“But I don’t want to be a legend,” Kagami says. “I just want to live as fully as I can.”

“I promise you can and you will,” Kuroko tells him. 

So Kagami and Kuroko go to bring down Heaven’s Children. The seven suns in the sky is almost too much to look at. Kuroko stays where he is in the shadows, directing Kagami as he faces the burning skies, standing tall and fearless. Even as his skin blisters and sweat rolls off his form, Kagami does not falter. He trusts in Kuroko’s words, and shoots.

The first sun to go is Kise. He falls through the sky with an anguished cry, and lands in the town of Kaijo. He is fished out days later from the nearby seas by a man named Kasamatsu, and Kise falls in love with the human art of sailing.

The second sun to go is Midorima. He drops into the fields of Shuutoku, and is found by a farmer boy of the Takao family. Midorima is appalled by the amount of physical exertion the humans have to do in order to sustain themselves, and spends years and years trying to find an easier way for the people that took him in.

The third sun to fall is Murasakibara. He goes down wordlessly, and decades later is discovered living a life of bountiful foods in the mountains of Yosen with a man whose beauty is rumoured to rival the goddesses.

The fourth and fifth sun descends together. Momoi and Aomine wake up in the town of Touou, and together they rebuild the town until its name is heard far and wide throughout the lands.

The sixth sun is the hardest to shoot down, but when he does, Akashi goes without a fight. He lands in the town that will later become the new capital of a new kingdom that will be read about in history books decades and decades from now.

Kagami lifts his bow and holds it steady. The sky is much emptier now, the heat less harsh, and slowly the earth revives itself. The last and final sun sits low on the horizon. 

“Wait,” Kuroko says. He looks up at his friend, and even though he is too far from the Heavens to see him, he knows Ogiwara is smiling at him. “Humans need sunlight to grow. Let us leave one sun in the sky, Kagami-kun.”

True to Kuroko’s words, Kagami returns a champion, a hero. He turns down all the offers for marriage and knighthood and riches, however, and instead turns to Kuroko, now a familiar presence.

“I don’t want anything else, so come home with me,” he says, and Kuroko agrees.

They live in peace for several years in a tiny village called Seirin, beloved by the people not for their fame but for their help around town. Until one day, a greedy emperor arrives in search of the legendary elixir of life.

The emperor is sly, and tells his men to wait until Kagami has left the house. Kuroko is alone when they knock down the door. His Heavenly gifts have long been abandoned that day long ago when he came down to Earth. Still, he stands tall in the face of their weapons and threats.

“Give me the elixir,” says Gold. “Make me immortal.”

“I refuse,” Kuroko responds. 

But when the Jabberwock soldiers do not stand down, Kuroko resorts to desperate measures. Right in front of their eyes, Kuroko drinks the elixir, drinks and drinks until every last drop is gone. Distantly, he hears Ogiwara’s words from way back then:  _ Take half the elixir to return, Kuroko. No less and no more. _ He can feel his body begin to tingle. He stares down Gold and his men.

“Leave,” he says quietly, and he is sad but resigned to see the fear in the Jabberwock soldiers. Kuroko was a child of the Heavens, after all. “Do not come back.”

Soon, Kuroko’s feet lifts off from the earth, and he begins to float towards to skies. He can’t hear Ogiwara anymore, nor can he find the gates to his first home. Instead, Kuroko finds refuge in the far, far away moon, and there he stays.

When Kagami returns home, he finds it empty and deserted. There is an empty vial on the floor, but no trace of Kuroko. Not even the lingering scent of vanilla and rain. He races back out in time to see the moon rise, and there, in the shadows of the distant moon, is a figure as familiar as his own reflection in water. And he can feel his heart break. Not even the great warrior Kagami can reach the moon. 

As years pass, Kagami spends his nights outside, watching the moon and hiding from the sun. He wonders if Kuroko ever watches him back.

(He does, every night, until the end of time.)

**Author's Note:**

> kagami: my first boyfriend turned into the moon  
> furihata, probably: that's rough buddy
> 
> come yell at me about myths and legends and sportsani @puddingcatbae on tumblr or twitter~~


End file.
